


A Life Unknown

by GiroGirl723



Category: Keroro Gunsou | Sgt. Frog, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-22
Updated: 2013-11-22
Packaged: 2018-01-02 07:59:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1054379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GiroGirl723/pseuds/GiroGirl723
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I've always considered myself a normal girl. At least, as normal as someone can get when they live with alien frogs. But I try to think of my life as, at most, entertaining. Try to downscale it. But ever since Momoka's end-of-school pool party, 'entertaining' just didn't cover it." Natsumi POV. Violence. Rating may go up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to post this fanfiction in honor of the release of Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters (which was so much better-made than the first one, and I think all us Percy Jackson fans agree on that). I originally had abandoned this story after I was halfway through the first chapter, but seeing The Sea of Monsters got my creative writing juices flowing again. Hooray! Please keep in mind that I will be sticking more to the books than the movies, and that this story is set soon after the end of The Last Olympian. The Heroes of Olympus stories will not be taken into account (although they are fantastic!)

I’ve always considered myself a normal girl.

At least, as normal as someone can get when they live with alien frogs. If you set aside the invasion plots, modifications of our house, and the occasional attack from the Keron Army, I lead a fairly average life.

I’m being sarcastic, of course. You just _know_ your life is weird when you’ve gotten turned into an adult version of yourself or a dog. (By the way, I’ve experienced both.)

But I try to think of my life as, at most, entertaining. Try to downscale it. Then it seems a _bit_ like every family deals with Keronians and Angols and ninjas and invasions- not just ours. But ever since Momoka’s end-of-school pool party, ‘entertaining’ just didn’t cover it.

Now I know you’re probably pretty confused, so I guess I’ll start from the beginning.

 

“Natsumi-chan! Come on!”

I let out a giant whoop as I cannonballed into Momoka’s pool. And by pool, I mean miniature waterpark. Momoka had it built especially for today- a traditional rectangular section for swimming laps, but also a wavemaker, hot tub, waterslide, and lazy river complete with inner tubes. It may seem like an extravagance to you- it definitely did to me, at first- but Momoka’s rich. _Billionaire_ rich. Besides, we had a huge reason to celebrate. Unlike my old school- Kisshou Academy- the high school my friends and I now go to was formatted more like an American school.

And that meant summer vacation.

Momoka was still on her last year of Kisshou, so she- as well as my brother, Fuyuki- had yet to experience the glories of summer vacation. But Momoka decided to throw the party anyway. Between you and me, Momoka has a _huge_ crush on my brother. I think she was trying to get close to him. Kind of backfired, seeing as Fuyuki hates the water.

Next to me, I heard another splash and looked over to see platoon leader and resident Keronian goofball grinning at me and making a ridiculous face. Trying to show off, he made a spin and ended up ramming his head into the pool wall.

Idiot.

Nobody noticed, though- see, all aliens have this ability called an anti-barrier, which they can control so only the people they want to can see them.

When Keroro popped up again, though, I noticed people staring at where he entered the water. Ripples were surrounding the spot. “Baka,” I whispered through clenched teeth. “People are going to see you.”

He grinned. “Don’t worry, de arimasu! Kururu has been making something to help with this. He should be here soon.”

“And you couldn’t wait until he got here?”

Just then I heard Momoka calling, “Lunch is ready!” and we all darted over.

 

As we dined on gourmet pizza (typical of Momoka- cheese from Italy, crust from Canada, and pepperoni from Argentina) I noticed a small boy, maybe a grade or two younger than Fuyuki and Momoka, eating voraciously across from me. He had somewhat of a bowl cut of black hair and wide grey eyes, and was kind of little-kid cute. I decided to try and make conversation with him. “I don’t think I know you. Are you a friend of Momoka’s?”

He set down his fork and stared. “Don’t you recognize me, Nattchi?”

I gasped. “Tamama?!”

He grinned. _So that’s how Keroro planned to blend in when he talked about Kururu ‘making something’,_ I thought.

“Are the others…?” I trailed off, knowing there were half a dozen people who could hear our conversation.

“Yep!” he replied cheerfully.

I looked around to see a guy in an orange t-shirt, white shorts, glasses, and blonde hair pulled into a ponytail leaning against a wooden support for the covering we were under, a slight smile on his face. “You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered, getting up and stalking over to the now-human Kururu.

When I got over there, I snarled, “What are you planning to do?”

“Enjoy ourselves, of course. Ku-kuku…”

“Enjoy yourselves? You’re not even in a bathing suit!”

“Well, I’m more looking forward to the others making fools of themselves trying to behave like Pekoponjins,” he replied smugly.

Of course.

“I’m going to find the others,” I said crossly.

 

First, I ran into Dororo- now a blue-haired, blue-eyed teenager talking happily to Koyuki. He was beaming- probably because he hadn’t been forgotten for once- and, unlike Kururu, had on a bathing suit. I opened my mouth to talk to him, when the now human Keroro- shaggy green hair and green eyes- ran over, grabbed his arm, and dragged him away. I caught a brief glance of two pairs of swim trunks- green and blue- plunging into the pool with a splash, and I sighed. It would be even harder now to keep track of the platoon and keep them out of trouble.

“You frustrated too?”

I turned around to see a boy with extremely shaggy red hair, narrow red-brown eyes, and a scar across his left eye standing in front of me, arms crossed in annoyance.

“Oh, hi, Giroro,” I said with another sigh.

He gave a small chuckle. “At least I got a better reception than Kururu.”

I groaned and looked down to shake my head, accidentally catching a glimpse of his (fairly well-toned) chest. He was clearly a little more fit than the rest of the platoon, probably because he worked out m- _Auggghhh,_ I cut myself off mentally. _What the heck are you thinking, Natsumi! Just because he looks like a human doesn’t mean that he really is one!_

“Natsumi?”

I looked up to see Giroro with a slightly worried look on his face. “S-sorry,” I stuttered, hoping he hadn’t caught me staring. “I think I’m going to go practice my flips.” And with that I scurried over to the diving board, hoping that I wouldn’t start fantasizing about my best friend.

Once there, I waited patiently until I got to the front of the line. By that time, a large crowd had gathered to watch- as usual. I climbed the ladder to the high dive, then took a deep breath and barreled forward. Pushing myself headfirst to gain the momentum for my first flip, I spun myself around once, then again before placing my hands in front of me and harpooning into the water in a perfect dive. I could vaguely hear the applause above as I began to resurface.

Suddenly, the cheering turned to yelling. Confused, I looked up to see a shadow rapidly approaching. I heard a splash, felt feet pressing into my head, and then everything went black.


	2. Revival

“Is she okay?!”

“I don’t know!”

“Quick! CPR!!!”

“Wait a minute… she’s breathing fine…”

I opened my eyes to see worried faces crowding around me. “What’s going on?”

“How are you already talking?” Satsuki questioned.

“Can you breathe okay?” Yayoi added.

“Of course,” I replied. And I could.

“How?” Tamama asked.

“What do you mean, how?” I replied, confused.

“You were underwater for two and a half minutes, Natsumi,” Giroro said gently.

“Not possible,” I replied. “I’m fine. You must have miscounted.”

“Kururu timed,” Keroro said. Kururu held up his watch. Sure enough, it said 02:28.56.

“How…?” I forced out.

“That’s what we’re wondering,” Fuyuki replied.

“What even happened?” I asked.

“Ayame jumped off the diving board before you could get out of the way,” Satsuki explained, referring to one of Momoka’s classmates, “And she accidentally kicked you in the head.”

“I’m so sorry, Natsumi-san!” Ayame apologized.

“We thought you were going to die!” Yayoi wailed.

“Hey, I’m fine,” I reassured her. “I’m just a little confused on how.”

“We all are,” Fuyuki’s classmate Chiruyo replied.

I tried to shake off the feeling of unease I was experiencing, and said, “Let’s not worry about that for now. Let’s get back in the water!”

 

Once we got home for the day, I dwelled over the fact that, while I was confused by the day’s events, I wasn’t actually disturbed that I almost died. In fact, a part of me had been saying that it was fine and there was no possible way I would even be permanently hurt, much less dead. But I had no idea where that voice came from.

“Nee-chan! Is dinner almost ready?”

I looked up from the sausage I was cooking. “Almost, Fuyu-” And then my speech was interrupted by a loud crash.

I sighed. Weird noises and even the occasional house destruction were part of my daily routine, what with having alien invaders living with us. I went right back to cooking. But then the screaming ensued.

“KEROOOOOO!”

I groaned. “Shut UP, bokegaeru!”

“There’s some weird monster in the base, de arimasu!!!!!!!!”

“Sure there is.”

Keroro (now back in Keronian form) ran into the living room, covered in scratches… and then the strangest thing I’d ever seen plowed into the living room. And I’ve seen a lot of strange things. This monster had the body of a lion, with two heads: one lion and one goat. Its tail was a snake. And it was heading straight at me.

I screamed.

Fuyuki came darting downstairs, and at the same time Giroro crashed into the living room with an extremely concerned and battle-ready face- as usual. “Natsumi, what’s wrong?”

“NO WAY!” Fuyuki shrieked as I started to fend off the weird lion/goat/snake thing. “We have a CHIMERA in our house! They actually exist!”

“What the heck is a chimera?!” I screeched as Giroro began firing at the thing.

“A Greek monster,” Fuyuki explained, stars in his eyes.

“Lovely,” I said, grabbing the frying pan from the stove (spilling the sausages out in the process) and using it to fend off the chimera, getting a brief sense of déjà vu from watching Tangled. “And what exactly is-” I sucked in a breath as the chimera clawed at my arm, leaving three shallow- but long- gashes.

At that moment, I heard another crash from the entryway, and two kids that were probably two or three years older than me dashed into the room- one was a boy with brown hair and sea-green eyes, while the other one was a girl with grey eyes and blonde hair pulled into a ponytail.

“Who are you?” I screeched as I hit the chimera with the frying pan, which only succeeded in getting it mad.

“Never mind that,” the boy said. He pulled out a pen from his pocket and uncapped it. The pen grew into a bronze sword. Okay. I could deal with that. Whatever got us out of this situation. “It’s no use using that frying pan.”

“Or the gun,” the girl added to Giroro. “Unless you have celestial bronze bullets.”

“Celestial bronze?!”

“It’s a long story!”

And at that moment, the boy slashed his sword into the chimera, which promptly dissolved into dust. I slumped to the floor, overwhelmed by what had just happened.

“Maybe you should sit down,” the girl said. “We need to explain some things.”

 

Once Keroro, Fuyuki, Giroro, the two strange kids, and I sat down, the girl took a deep breath. “First of all, introductions. I’m Annabeth Chase, and this is my boyfriend Percy Jackson.”

“This is Keroro, Tamama, Giroro, Kururu, Dororo, and my brother Fuyuki,” I said, gesturing to each in turn. Suddenly, it occurred to me that neither of the newcomers were freaking out by the aliens sitting in our living room. Then again, they didn’t seem too startled by the chimera either. “And I’m-”

“Natsumi Hinata,” the boy- Percy- interrupted.

I froze. “How…?”

“We’ve been watching you for several weeks now. It’s amazing you’ve made it this long without being noticed,” Annabeth added.

“Wait. Waiting for me? And what do you mean, made it this long? Noticed by who?”

“Let’s break this to you lightly,” Annabeth said. “Your father hasn’t been around since you were very young.” She said it like a statement, not a question.

“How did you know…?”

“The satyrs found you.”

“Satyrs?”

“Mythological Greek goat-human hybrids,” Fuyuki explained.

“Not mythological, though. They’re real,” Percy said.

“They’re… wait a minute. You can’t possibly mean…” Fuyuki trailed off.

“You’ve got it. See, this guy’s smart,” Annabeth said. “Fuyuki, maybe you can explain.”

Fuyuki suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Um, Nee-chan… I’m actually not your brother. I’m your half-brother.”

“WHAT?!?!?!” I screeched.

“Yeah. Mama is our shared parent, but Papa is actually only my father. Mama told me a few years ago, but she didn’t want me to tell you. Now I understand why.”

“And what reason is that?!”

Percy sucked in a breath. “Natsumi… your father is a Greek god.”

I stared. Then, suddenly, I started to laugh. And laugh and laugh and laugh.

“Okay, this is hysterical. Bokegaeru, you hired these guys, right? They’re probably some alien friends of yours. Whoever they are, this was actually a pretty good joke!”

“We’re not joking,” Annabeth said. “You’re a demigod, Natsumi. Half human and half god. We are, too. I’m a daughter of Athena, and Percy is Poseidon’s son.”

“Wait. You’re dating. Aren’t Athena and Poseidon enemies?” Fuyuki queried.

“More like rivals, technically,” Percy corrected.

“Can we get over the small talk and start showing me some PROOF that what you say is true?!”

“Jeez, what’s all this yelling about?” Kururu said, coming into the room with Dororo and Tamama in tow.

“These maniacs are claiming that I’m half Greek god,” I said, practically hysterical by this point.

“Kukuku… I always wondered how you had so much strength.”

“YOU BELIEVE THEM?!”

“Natsumi,” Annabeth said gently, “How else can you explain the chimera, or it dissolving into dust? All the Greek myths, they aren’t really myths. They exist. They’ve happened.”

“The bokegaerus could have created it. They can do things like that.”

Percy sighed. “So you really won’t believe us?”

“Heck no!”

“Well then, we’ll have to show you something that will make you believe us,” Annabeth said.

“Sure, sure,” I said sarcastically.

“You might want to call your mom. We’re going to a camp in Long Island where you’ll learn to fight.”

“WHAT?! NO WAY AM I GOING! I already know how to fight! And it’s not like Mama will agree to it either.”

“She will. She knows that where we’re taking you is the only safe place in the world for you,” Annabeth sighed.

So I sighed as well and proceeded to take out my phone. I was sure Mama would confirm that this was all one big, sorry joke.

 

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m sorry, Natsumi, but Annabeth and Percy are right. Your father is a god.”

“ _Which_ god?”

“Honey, that’s for you to find out.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

“I couldn’t. I can’t explain everything to you; it’s Chiron’s job, not mine.”

“Who the heck is Chiron?”

“You’ll meet him when you go to Camp Half-Blood.”

“Oh yeah, this weird ‘camp’ Annabeth and Percy are talking about.”

“Natsumi, I know you’re upset, but I had to keep this from you.”

_“Why?”_

Mama sighed. “That I can explain. Monsters are naturally attracted to your demigod ‘scent’. When you find out who you really are, that scent becomes much stronger. I didn’t tell you so I could keep you safe.”

“Well, what about Fuyuki?”

“He’s fully human, honey. He must have told you that.”

Sigh. “So he was telling the truth about being my half-brother?”

“Yes. He didn’t know the details, though. It’s unfortunate that he had to find out as well, though. The whole reason we’ve lived in Tokyo is that it’s a busy city and far away from the U.S, where the gods- and therefore, the monsters- live.”

“The gods live in the U.S?!”

“Over it, actually. Look, darling, I don’t know all the details myself. Your father didn’t tell me much.”

I gave a groan. “So I’m going to have to learn all about this mess from complete strangers?!”

“Fuyuki knows the background information on Greek myths. But yes, all the current-day stuff you will have to learn from Annabeth, Percy, and Chiron.”

_“Uuuugh.”_

“I know this is hard on you, but you’ve got to accept it. I’m leaving the office right now and will be home in about half an hour to wish you goodbye. I love you, Natsumi.”

I sighed. “Love you too, Mama.”

 

Sure enough, after half an hour of awkward silence (Percy had said that it was best if I learned the rest of ‘the story’ at camp, so we didn’t have much else to talk about) Mama arrived at home. I ran into her arms and hugged her tightly.

“We’ll all miss you, Natsumi,” Mama comforted.

“Wait. You mean you aren’t coming with me?”

“I already said that,” she replied.

“Only half-bloods can get into Camp Half-Blood,” Annabeth said gently, as if I was a small child. That annoyed the heck out of me. “And you’re the only half-blood here besides Percy and me.”

 _That_ I couldn’t tolerate. “I’m not leaving my brother to fend for himself with these idiots!” I said, gesturing to the Keronians as panic grew inside me. “And you said we might be doing fighting there. I’ve always battled with Giroro there to watch my back!” It was then that I began to realize how much I actually needed my friends- and the stupid frogs- whether I wanted to believe it or not. “I need these guys!”

“They can’t come,” Percy said. “It’s bad enough that mortals know about us.”

I sighed, ignoring the lump forming in my throat, and slowly nodded.

“Hang on, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth interjected. “We couldn’t take everyone, but it’s not like the Keronians would go telling everyone- they have their own secret. And Fuyuki- well, he has that same secret to keep.”

Giroro spoke up. “If it’s at all possible, I’d really like to come with Natsumi.”

“Please,” I almost begged. “He’s my partner- my best alien friend. We have this… connection. I can’t really explain it, but all of the stupid frogs have a connection like that with one of my friends. Please. Let him come.” I hated sounding so pitiful, but it was true. I needed Giroro.

After a long pause, Percy said, “Chiron might send him back. But we can try.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Natsumi seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown. XD


	3. Mono Without the Kissing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enter Nico di Angelo!

“I need a minute to pack,” I realized as Annabeth and Percy turned towards the door.

“Most people don't have _time_ to pack,” Percy muttered. “I didn’t.”

“Be nice, Seaweed Brain,” I heard Annabeth retort as I dashed upstairs. “This is a lot for her.”

Darn right it was.

When I had packed a pillow, a photo album, my iPod, and my phone, I dashed back downstairs. “I’m ready… I guess.”

“I don’t think you want to bring the cell phone,” Annabeth commented. “It’s like sending up a flare to monsters: ‘Here I am!’”

“Oh come on,” Percy chided. “ _You_ have one.”

Annabeth frowned. “Fine. Just make sure Chiron or Mr. D doesn’t know about it.”

“Mr. D?”

“You’ll meet him at camp,” Percy answered. “And don’t be surprised if he screws up your name.”

“More people at camp,” I muttered sarcastically. “Hooray.”

“Something tells me she’s either going to completely adore or utterly loathe Clarisse,” Annabeth whispered to Percy.

“Who’s Clarisse?” Giroro asked.

“Camp,” Annabeth and Percy said in unison.

Man, I was really starting to hate that word.

“So, do you have plane tickets or something? Because we’re going to need an extra one for Giroro,” I said.

“Can’t.” Percy gave an annoyed laugh. “Son of Poseidon, remember? Zeus hates my dad, and the skies are his domain, you know.”

“No, I don’t know,” I said, starting to get annoyed. “That’s Fuyuki’s area of expertise.”

“Well, it’s about to become yours,” Annabeth replied. “I thought you liked a challenge.”

“Are you sure all this ‘research’ was actually to help protect me?” I muttered. “Or was it really stalking?”

“We really need to cut the questions until we get to camp,” Annabeth said. “Who knows when the next monster is going to come after you?”

“And how exactly are we getting to this ‘Camp Half-Blood’ if we can’t fly?” Giroro asked.

“Shadow travel,” Percy replied.

“Are you sure about that?” Annabeth whispered. “Natsumi’s new to this whole thing, remember?”

“Mrs. O’Leary’s reliable.”

They had lost me by this point, but I still asked, “Should I be nervous about this ‘shadow travel’?”

“No, of course not,” Percy reassured. “Not when my friend Nico’s with us.”

I sucked in a breath. “Let’s do this.”

“Okay,” Annabeth said with a small smile. “One thing: None of you can tell anyone about this. No,” she interrupted as Tamama opened his mouth, “not even your partners.”

“Not tell Momochi?” Tamama asked in disbelief. “But she knows about us!”

“Not for now, at least,” Percy said. “Maybe in good time. We’d have to talk to Chiron first.”

I said my goodbyes (it was almost amusing, how bittersweet Fuyuki was finding this- he wouldn’t be seeing me all summer, but at the same time he just found out he was indirectly related to a Greek god; his dream come true) and slung my backpack over my shoulder. Giroro morphed into his human form, then I walked out the door with him, Annabeth, and Percy, with a last wave of farewell.

Once we got a decent way from the house, Percy asked, “Is there a park where people wouldn’t be at this hour? I mean, the Mist would cover Mrs. O’Leary, but we can’t have random mortals seeing us disappear into nothingness.”

“Mist? And who’s Mrs. O’Leary?”

“The Mist is a magical shroud that changes how mortals see things from our world so that they’re more believable- but it only works naturally on monsters. For example, Percy’s half-brother Tyson is a Cyclops, but the Mist kind of… diverts your attention away from his eye,”

Annabeth explained.

“Almost like Giroro’s… what do you call it?” Percy added.

That sounded familiar. “Anti-barrier,” I responded.

“Exactly. As for Mrs. O’Leary… well, you’ll meet her in a matter of minutes. So back to the question: Is there a park that would probably be deserted at this hour?”

I nodded. “It’s about a block from here.”

 

Once we got to the park, Percy gave a loud whistle, and then a giant black dog- literally, it was the size of a small house- bounded from out of nowhere and began to lick Percy vigorously.

“This is Mrs. O’Leary,” Percy said.

I gaped.

“Eh,” Giroro said dismissively. “Not much worse than the space Cerberus.”

“There’s _space_ monsters too?” Annabeth asked. “Great. That’s just lovely. Twice the problem.”

“They don’t exactly dissolve into dust, so I doubt you’d peg them as real ‘monsters’,” Giroro replied.

“So Mrs. O’Leary is a monster too, I assume?” I said, starting to freak out.

Mrs. O’Leary whimpered.

“A hellhound, and a _friendly_ one at that,” a boy sitting atop Mrs. O’Leary- who I hadn’t noticed before- called. “Don’t worry, she’s completely harmless. At least to us.” He was dressed, like, emo. I’m not kidding. All black, bomber jacket, skull rings, shaggy black hair, the whole lot.

“And who are you?” Giroro asked suspiciously.

“Nico DiAngelo,” the boy said. “Son of Hades.”

That explained the emo look.

“I’m Natsumi… and I don’t exactly know who my father is,” I said hesitantly.

“And you?” Nico gestured to Giroro- but not in a high-and-mighty way, just to clear things up.

“Corporal Giroro. I’m not human.”

“Well, of course-”

“No, I mean I’m not human at all.”

“Then what-”

“Alien frog.”

Nico nodded. “Okay.” He said it in a very nonchalant way. Geez, couldn’t any of these guys show a _little_ shock at meeting an alien? It made absolutely no sense. Well, it did but- Anyway, let’s get back to the story.

“What are you waiting for?” Annabeth said. “We could have another monster after us as we speak. Just because this is off the beaten path in terms of godly things, that doesn’t mean the occasional monster doesn’t come along. Get on!”

I glanced at Giroro, who raised his eyebrows. I knew exactly what he was trying to say: _Yeah, I know. They’re way too over-eager._

I rolled my eyes, as if to say, _Tell me about it._

And then we both climbed on Mrs. O’Leary.

“You ready?” Nico asked once we had gotten situated: Nico first, then Percy, Annabeth, me, and Giroro in the very back, which he didn’t seem too happy about. Non-demigod = last. Lovely.

“I… guess?” I said hesitantly.

Nico inclined his head, and then patted Mrs. O’Leary on the shoulder. “Let’s go, girl.”

A black cloud appeared out of nowhere, and Mrs. O’Leary bounded into it. And that’s when things got strange- well, stranger. We were surrounded by darkness. It didn’t feel like we were going anywhere, yet at the same time it felt like we were going so fast my face was going to peel away from my skull. It reminded me of the boat scene from _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ \- the original, not the remake. Only this was way, way scarier than _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_.

I nervously began humming the first song I could think of, “All That Jazz” from Chicago, before realizing that someone died in the song, so I switched to “Another Op’nin’, Another Show”.

I felt Giroro lay his hand on my arm, and I relaxed slightly, but that didn’t shake off the feeling that I could barely breathe. The panic was setting in that should have come when I almost drowned.

And then, suddenly, a cloud of light appeared, and Mrs. O’Leary bounded through it. We were suddenly back in the real world.

I felt sick, and like I was going to fall off Mrs. O’Leary. Like, almost about to fall asleep. I felt like I had mono, except I hadn’t been kissing anybody. “Why do I feel so tired?” I groaned.

“Natural… side effect… of shadow travel,” Percy said, sounding as drowsy as I did. As if to emphasize his point, Mrs. O’Leary slumped down on the ground, rolled us off, and promptly fell asleep.

“Where exactly are we?” I asked, noticing my surroundings for the first time. We were in a forest, surrounded by huge trees that must have been thousands of years old- a completely different setting from the busy city atmosphere of Tokyo.

“Long Island, New York,” Nico replied. He seemed less affected then the rest of us.

“We came all this way?!” I gasped.

“One of the main benefits of shadow travel: speed,” Nico answered. “Anyways, we’ve got to hurry. There’re way more monsters in New York than Japan.”

Giroro sighed- clearly as exasperated by this as I was. “Let’s go see this ‘Camp Half-Blood’.”

 

We had been hiking for almost half an hour, and even I, who played just about every sport invented, was extremely tired. “How much longer?” I panted.

“Just a few minutes, thank the gods,” Annabeth replied casually.

“Generally you don’t notice the distance as much because you’ve got something on your tail that wants to kill you,” Percy added as if it were the most common thing in the world.

At that point we reached a hill with a tall pine tree and a dragon wrapped around it, probably guarding a golden sheepskin hanging from one of the branches. Yeah, perfectly normal.

Not.

“Is this it?” Giroro asked.

“This is it,” Nico responded.

“Introducing Half-Blood Hill,” Percy said proudly.

“The dragon kind of gave it away,” I muttered.

We walked to the top of the hill and looked down. I gasped. Because the most beautiful camp I had ever seen lay before us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of all the lines I’ve written in my fanfictions, “I felt like I had mono, except I hadn’t been kissing anybody” is my all-time favorite. XD


	4. Not Your Ordinary Summer Camp

The first thing I noticed was the lake.

Blue, fresh, and inviting, it beckoned me to run to it and dive in, soaking up the wetness and enjoying the (assumed) coolness. Soft ripples floated across the surface, and the smell of fresh, unchlorinated water wafted into my line of smell.

Next I noticed the cabins. They were just beyond the lake: twelve that were arranged neatly in the shape of a Greek omega, with a cluster of slightly smaller cabins nearby. There was a courtyard in the center of the omega, with a large expanse of grass and an old basketball hoop.

To the right of the cabins was a large, open pavilion with about twenty tables. To the right, a stables, small shack-looking thing, an arena that literally looked like the Coliseum, and some strawberry fields. Behind all that was a forest- large, but not as huge as what we had just hiked through.

Closer to us, on the near side of a river that wound from the lake up to what I knew from geography was Long Island Sound, was a climbing wall, amphitheater, medium-sized cabin with a sign that I think read Arts and Crafts, a volleyball court (hooray!) and a large, two-story house with a wraparound porch.

But what really caught my attention was the kids.

There were tons of them, ranging from teens my age and older to runts (sorry, younger kids) who looked like they were still in elementary school. I even caught a glimpse of a one or two people who might have been in college. On the climbing wall, playing volleyball, hanging around the cabins and reading, swimming, sparring in and around the arena, riding pegasi (even I knew enough about Greek mythology to know the proper name for those winged horses you hear about), and chatting by the tables.

Just then, a man with the body of a horse- a centaur, I think it was called- came galloping up the hill before he stopped in front of me. He gave me a once-over, and then a relieved look crossed his face. “So you got her here unharmed.”

Annabeth nodded. “She’s got a small scratch on her arm, but that can be healed easily.”

“Does unharmed include mentally? Because my brain’s going insane right now,” I said with a nervous laugh. “By the way, who are you?”

“Chiron, the activities director,” he responded.

“Oh yeah, Mama mentioned you,” I replied.

“Ah, yes, I’ll be explaining things to you. I can understand that you might be a bit… overwhelmed. Most of our first-time campers are. And who is this young man? Another demigod?” He nodded to Giroro.

“I’m Giroro. And no, I’m not a demigod. I’m a Keronian.”

 

“An alien frog,” I explained. “He doesn’t look it now- he’s in his human form.”

“I can see that.” Then Chiron frowned. “And you were able to get past the barrier? It should be stronger than ever, what with the Golden Fleece. I wonder…” he mused.

“Wonder what?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he responded quickly. “And what is your name, child?”

“Natsumi Hinata.”

“Well, Natsumi, let’s get you acquainted with camp. And Giroro, you should probably come too. Percy, Annabeth, Nico, thank you. You may go now.”

 

Chiron guided us to the two-story house, pointing out the buildings I had noticed along the way. “That’s the lake, and the volleyball court, and way over there’s the amphitheater, where we hold campfires every night. And past the river there are the pegasi stables.” Once we finally reached our destination, he gestured to it. “The Big House, as the campers call it. Let’s go meet our camp director, shall we?”

We walked into the house and were led to a large sitting room, where a small man sporting a leopard-print track suit and a large potbelly sat. He had a can of Diet Coke in front of him.

“Mr. D, we have new campers,” Chiron said. “This is Natsumi Hinata and Giroro.”

When the man- Mr. D- looked up at us, he sighed. “And two more brats to add to the lot. Really, you all are multiplying like rabbits!”

Giroro growled. I mean literally growled. “I don’t care how much older you might be than me- you’re going to seriously regret saying that.”

“I don’t care how many years you’ve been in some alien army, boy, I’m pretty sure you couldn’t take on a god single-handedly.”

“How did you know I was in the Keron army? And… wait, a GOD?”

“Yes, a god. I would hope you would know about the origin of this camp, demigod or no. You’re really so surprised we exist?”

“More like I’m wondering why one is standing right in front of me!”

“Look, um…”

“Giroro.”

“Right. Look, Gerald, it’s a long story involving an off-limits nymph and a very angry Zeus with the result of centuries stuck with you brats.”

I had to stop myself from laughing. Gerald? Talk about screwing up a name. I could see what Percy had been talking about.

Giroro rolled his eyes, clearly still not totally convinced that Mr. D could do him any harm. “And which god are you, exactly?”

“Dionysius, boy! The god of wine! Although this insufferable punishment prevents me from enjoying the very beverage I represent!”

“Hence the Diet Coke,” I muttered.

“What was that, Nancy Huffman?” Mr. D said in a threatening way.

“Nothing,” I said quickly. Nancy Huffman. The whole situation was ridiculous. _Mr. D_ was ridiculous.

 

“Well, now that you’ve met Mr. D, let’s get you acquainted with the camp,” Chiron said.

 

As we walked out, Giroro muttered under his breath, “Annoying guy, no?”

I groaned. “Tell me about it.”

“I would advise you not to make such comments around Mr. D,” Chiron said quietly. I had no idea he could hear us. “But let us leave that topic. How old are you, Natsumi?”

“Sixteen.”

“Then you ought to be claimed by nightfall,” Chiron said. Then, as I opened my mouth to ask, he explained, “Claiming is when your godly parent, well, claims you by putting their symbol over your head. It used to be very unusual to be claimed and we had a very crowded Hermes cabin- since Hermes is the patron god of travelers that was where all the unclaimed campers stayed. But last summer Percy made a deal with the gods that every camper who came here would be claimed by their thirteenth birthday. You’re a few years late, obviously, but that might be due to the fact you lived so far away from camp.”

“How are cabins decided?” I asked.

“You’re sorted by your godly parent,” Chiron replied. “Which could pose a problem for where Giroro will stay, but we can figure that out eventually.”

Of course. And to think I was a straight-A’s student.

As we walked along, Chiron described the parts of the camp in greater detail. Fireworks were set off of the camp’s section of Long Island Sound every Fourth of July. The climbing wall sometimes spewed lava for an extra challenge. The woods were used for cutthroat- and I mean that in somewhat of a literal sense- games of Capture the Flag. When we reached the cabins, he said, “As I said before, you’re sorted into cabins by godly parent. The cabins in the main circle are the primary twelve gods- Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Ares, Demeter, Dionysius, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Athena, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. Hades’s cabin is over with the minor gods- all of them were later additions.” He pointed at each cabin as he said it. It seemed like the cabins were themed off of the god or goddess they represented. For example, the cabin for Ares- who even I knew was the god of war- looked very dark and fortress-like, and heavy metal music was blaring from inside. Aphrodite’s cabin was very pretty and attractive, while Hephaestus’s was made entirely out of metal.

“Some of the cabins are simply honorary and usually don’t have occupants,” Chiron continued. “Poseidon’s was originally empty until Percy came along, and Zeus’s only child is in Artemis’s Hunters. Hera and Artemis don’t have any children- although the Hunters stay there occasionally.”

“Who exactly _are_ the Hunters?” Giroro asked.

“Excellent question. The Hunters are followers of Artemis- all female- who are made immortal in exchange for an oath of loyalty to Artemis and a swearing off of all male consorts.”

“As in no boys?” I asked.

“Not exactly. You may be friends with boys, although it is deeply frowned upon. And of course visits from male relatives aren’t off-limits. But in the matters of dating and romantic relationships, yes, no boys.”

This was getting more confusing by the second. “But wait. Don’t most demigods not have any siblings? So does that mean dads or something?”

“Artemis doesn’t only accept demigods. Demigod, nymph, mortal… as long as you are female and willing to take the oath, she will accept you.”

Weird.

I gave a nod. “So what now?”

Chiron thought for a minute. “You’ve fought before, correct?”

“Higher technology than I think you have- no offense- but yeah.”

“None taken.” He smiled kindly. “Perhaps you should go to the arena so we can gauge how much experience you have so you know where to start training.” He turned and began to lead Giroro and me towards the arena.

 

As soon as Chiron had left after dropping us off, a girl with stringy brown hair and red- yes, red- eyes stalked up to me with several extremely tough-looking kids behind her. “So you’re the new campers,” she sneered. “Pink pigtails? What is this, My Little Pony?” I clenched my hands into fists and tried to keep myself from pummeling her. My frustration only grew as she gave Giroro a once-over, genuine interest in her eyes as she surveyed his well-toned build. “There might be some hope for you.”

For some reason, a spurt of jealousy shot through me. “And who exactly are you?” I snarled.

“Clarisse, daughter of Ares.” Then, with more emphasis, “The god of war. Meaning I could kick your wimpy little behind any day I wanted to.”

Now Giroro was getting ticked off too. I could feel it. “Take that back,” I growled.

“Oh, please. I’ve been training here for seven years. You have absolutely no experience whatsoever, Pinkie.”

“My name’s Natsumi,” I shot back. “And don’t assume things.”

She rolled her eyes. “Like I even care what your name is.”

“I wouldn’t be talking like that,” I threatened. By now, I didn’t care how much like bragging my next statement would be. I needed to let this girl know who she was talking to. “I’ve kept five aliens in line daily for two and a half years, prevented over three hundred invasion plans, and battled hostile alien armies twice. I’ve ridden on the back of a dragon, escaped being brainwashed, and helped defeat a monster the size of a decent sized island. I’ve bested bullets with a school bag, escaped from an endless desert, survived two nearly fatal space diseases, gone back in time with a ghost girl, and switched bodies with my worst enemy and lived through it. I’ve even earned the name ‘Earth’s Last Line of Defense’. Can you claim the same?” Then, deciding I should defend my best friend as well, I continued, “And there’s more than ‘some hope’ for Giroro. He’s been in the Keron Army for over a decade, become a dragon bigger than a house, outshooted every person he’s challenged except me and his brother, battled a monster that had the abilities of him and his platoon-mates combined, defeated a space Cerberus and several Andromeda Huskies, and gone on several suicide missions and lived to tell the tale. So _don’t go insulting us_.”

Clarisse snickered. “I didn’t understand half of what you said- what the heck is an Andromeda Husky?- but I’m pretty sure you’re lying. Prove you’re that good. Duel me.”

“Gladly.” I grabbed a practice broadsword lying on the ground and shifted it, testing its weight. It was heavier than the Keronian beam swords I was used to, but it would do. “Let’s go.” Clarisse nodded challengingly, then strode towards the center of the ring. As I started to follow her, Giroro put a hand on my shoulder. “Good luck.”

“You ought to challenge her, too,” I responded. “Show her we both mean business. Besides, I didn’t like the way she was looking at you.”

Giroro frowned. “Don’t worry, I don’t date snotty Pekoponian girls who insult you.”

I grinned. “Well, let’s show her, then.”


	5. Stormbringer

“You ready, Pinkie?” Clarisse snarled as I positioned myself in a fighting stance across from her.

“Why do I have the feeling this is going to become a constant nickname?” I muttered. “Maybe I should dye my hair. On second thought, no. I like my hair.”

At that moment, Clarisse lunged at me. I instantly blocked her, nearly wrenching the sword out of her hand.

Easy. Too easy.

Clarisse came at me again, and I easily countered. It was easy to see she was used to playing the offensive; that gave me advantage. I usually did the same for sports, but in battle I often was more defensive, which allowed me to switch between the two with ease. I thrust my sword at her, sliding it from the tip down to the hilt. We stood there for a second, pressing our blades against each other, before reeling back and clashing together once again.

The battle continued for almost two minutes before I felt Clarisse begin to tire. Seeing my opportunity, I once again slid my sword to the hilt of hers, and with a flick of my wrist, I sent it flying. An instant afterwards I shoved her to the ground and rested the point of my sword against her throat. A cheer arose from the spectators.

“I win,” I said.

I reached out my hand to help Clarisse up, but she shoved it away. She pulled herself up, then gave me the last thing I’d expected: a smile.

“You’re pretty good,” she admitted. “But I’m more used to a spear. I’ll win next time.”

“Sure you will,” I replied with a grin.

And that was when a semi-friendly rivalry was born.

 

After that, people watched me with immense interest.

Everyone wanted to know how this newbie girl from Japan was able to defeat Clarisse on her first day. Clearly that was a big deal. And I knew that if there was any place I could tell people that I lived with alien frogs, it was here. But I kept my lips sealed.

“That is the thirty-first person that has looked at me way longer than they should have,” I muttered to Giroro as I passed a gawking middle school girl. “And I’m counting.”

“It’ll die down,” he reassured me. “It’s your first day.”

“Sure it will,” I muttered.

“Giroro! Natsumi!”

I looked in the direction of the shouter to see Annabeth waving at us from the arts and crafts cabin. We walked over to her.

“You’re going to be happy about this,” Annabeth said once we reached her. “Percy and I talked with Chiron, and he agreed to let the Keronians and those of your friends who know about them come to Camp Half-Blood on the first week of July.”

I pumped a triumphant fist in the air. Giroro gave a small grin. “Does he have any idea what he’s getting himself into?”

“I don’t think the camp is ready for this,” I laughed.

Annabeth smiled. “We’ve seen worse. By the way, if either of you want to do our rock-climbing challenge tonight, feel free- we’re doing rocks clashing together, spewing lava, the whole shebang. Of course, you’re new, so if you don’t feel up to it…”

I cast a glance at Giroro, who had a coy smile on his face. “We’re in,” I said.

 

“Hi Mama,” I said into the phone. Although cell phones usually weren't allowed at camp, Chiron had granted me special permission to make a call home.

“Hi sweetie. How’s camp?”

“I’m adjusting. I beat a girl named Clarisse in a sparring session today. Apparently that’s huge.”

“Congratulations! Are you adjusting well?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Having Giroro here helps. A familiar face in the crowd, you know.”

“Of course.” Then she paused, before I heard her say, “Yes, Kero-chan, it’s Natsumi.”

I heard a distant “Yahoo!” on the other end and smiled. It was nice to have the Keronians excited to talk to me, for a change.

“Hang on, Natsumi,” Mama said. “I’m putting you on speaker.”

“Hi Nattchi!” I heard Tamama’s voice squeal.

“Hi, Tamama. Everyone.”

“Is it really true that you’re half god, Natsumi-san?” The voice belonged to… Koyuki.

“Wait, Mama. Didn’t Annabeth and Percy say we couldn’t tell anyone about me?” I asked.

“Yes, but Chiron gave us special permission for the Keronians’ partners to know,” Mama explained.

“That’s great!” I responded. “And yes, it’s true. I’m a demigod- though I’m still having a bit of trouble believing it myself. Are Momoka-chan and Saburo-senpai here too?”

“Yep,” Momoka responded.

“Pretty darn cool camp, it sounds like,” Saburo commented.

“Sort of,” I said, a sweatdrop forming on my forehead. “Like I said, though, it’s taking me a while to adjust.”

“I can’t wait to see your camp!” Koyuki squealed. “You have to show us everything.”

“Of course I will.” I smiled.

“What’s going on?” Giroro asked, coming up behind me.

“Mama called. Everyone knows now,” I responded. “Want me to put you on speaker?”

“No.”

“Giroro’s here,” I said into the phone. “I’m putting him on speaker.”

“ _Natsumi_ ,” he groaned.

I hit the button anyway.

“Hey,” Giroro said begrudgingly. “So I seriously have to talk to you idiots?”

After Dororo’s cry of indignation at the other end, he corrected quickly, “Not you, Dororo. I was referring to Kururu and Keroro.”

“Is that any way to talk to your superior?” Keroro said haughtily.

“Shut up, bokegaeru,” I groaned.

“I really wish I was over there right now,” Giroro said.

“So you can shove another grenade in my mouth? I’ll pass,” Keroro replied.

“What’s this about shoving grenades in mouths?” Percy said, coming over.

“Keronians are harder to kill than humans,” I responded. “Or demigods, I’m assuming.”

“Clearly. So are you talking with your family?”

“Yeah.”

“You might want to wrap it up. We’ve got to fit you both with heat-resistant climbing gloves. And you both need to find a weapon you’re going to use regularly. The practice swords aren’t fit for real battle.”

I nodded, then spoke to Mama and the others on the opposite end of the line. “Gotta go- stuff to do."

“Of course,” Mama said. “We’ll see you on June 30th.”

I smiled. “See you then.” And then I hung up.

 

Chiron met us at the armory. “So, picking a weapon,” he began. “Picking a sword or a bow isn’t just a matter of grabbing the one that works the best generically. It has to fit you. Your build, your fighting style. Nobody else’s. Sometimes you can tell if a weapon is right for you just by holding it. Other times, you’ll actually have to test it out. Either way, don’t go with a weapon just because it’s the most powerful or your mind’s set on a certain weapon. Your heart may be set on a bow and arrows and you wind up with a broadsword. You want to choose what will keep you alive.” He gestured inside. “Now let’s go.”

I started at the archery sets, while Giroro began examining a variety of long daggers. I made my way through dozens and dozens of weapons, all made of the same material- celestial bronze, Chiron had called it. I tested archery sets, daggers, even a mace or two. And finally, I reached the swords.

The first few didn’t pique my interest. But when I picked up a sword that was slightly longer and thinner than most of the others but all in all fairly average, a small shiver ran through me. And I _knew_.

“This is it,” I called.

Chiron came over. “Ah, that one,” he mused. “I thought that might fit you. Fast and agile. Good for both offense and defense. It fits your style well.”

“You sound like the wandmaker from _Harry Potter_ ,” I said.

Chiron chuckled. “The name of that sword is Kataigida, or Stormbringer.”

At that moment, a cry of frustration came from the corner of the room.

“Giroro? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I have tried _every single weapon_. And _none_ of them feel right.”

Chiron sighed. “It happens.”

Suddenly, a boy appeared in the doorway. “Wait, aren’t you the Keronian?”

“How did you know?” Giroro replied. “I haven’t told that many people. Most of the campers are just assuming I’m a demigod.”

“I’m a friend of Annabeth’s,” he told me.” The boy came in and approached Giroro, sticking out his hand. “Mark Lexington. Hephaestus cabin. Annabeth said you’re good with a gun.”

Giroro smiled. “Yeah.”

“I could make you some celestial bronze bullets, if you want.”

Giroro’s smile widened. “Question is, can you make them the same quality as Keronian bullets?”

“Please. Son of Hephaestus, remember?”

He nodded. “Fine. Sounds like a deal.”

 

Thirty minutes later, Giroro emerged from the Hephaestus cabin, holding a medium-sized drawstring bag and looking very satisfied.

“Worked out?” I asked.

“Perfectly. What did you do while I was in there?”

I grinned. “Hecate cabin. One of the girls there put a spell on my sword so it does… this,” I said, producing a pendant that looked exactly like Stormbringer, hung on a thin silver chain, from underneath my shirt. “All I have to do is take it off…” I unhooked the necklace to demonstrate. “…And it turns back into the actual sword.” Sure enough, the pendant grew to full-size. “And all I have to do is will it to turn back to a necklace, and it does.” Once it was back to pendant form, I re-hooked the clasp around my neck, before giving Giroro a sly smile. “Not all of us can materialize our weapons.”

“So it’s kind of like Riptide,” Giroro mused.

“Yeah.”

“Handy,” he commented. “Does it come back to you if you lose it, too?”

I beamed. “Yup.”

He grinned as well. “We’ll have to test it out sometime.”


	6. Enter the Lava

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you have it. Another big chappie. By the way, I will now be trying to respond to some of the reviews as part of my author’s notes at the beginning of the next chapter, so please review and I might answer! YAAAAY! (LOL. I’m a dork.)

Night came quickly. Campers streamed to the rock-climbing wall. It looked perfectly innocent, but I knew better. There would be injuries tonight. Thanks to the help of ambrosia and nectar, they would heal quickly, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt.  
Worse than the thought of serious injuries, though, was the anticipation of my claiming. Chiron had said I would be claimed by tonight. Lights-out differed for each cabin, but we were expected to be inside by ten-thirty. It was six o’clock now. In the next four and a half hours, I would know who my father was.  
“You nervous?” Annabeth said, coming up behind me.  
“Not as much for the rock climbing. I’ve fought before, and believe it or not, I do have ADHD- I’ve just learned to control it. I’m more worried about my claiming.”  
“Ah. Well, no matter who your parent is, I’m sure that you’ll end up fine. It’s a pity your dad’s your godly parent- it would be cool if you were a daughter of Athena. We could be sisters! But I can see you living in the Ares cabin.”  
“Please, no,” I groaned. “I may be on better terms with Clarisse than this morning, but I certainly don’t want to live with her.”  
“I’m sure the feeling is mutual,” she laughed. “Percy! Giroro! Over here!”  
I saw the boys weave their way over to us. “You doing the climbing, Percy?” I asked.  
“Annabeth and I both are,” Percy replied. “You?”  
“Of course. By the way, Giroro, did you figure out which cabin you’re staying in?”  
“Ares. It seemed to fit me best.”  
“Now I bet you really don’t want to live there,” Annabeth commented.  
“Hey!” Giroro protested.  
“Not like that,” Annabeth protested. “I know you’re both on fairly good terms. I meant that it might be awkward living with a guy you’re not related to.”  
I shrugged. “We lived together before we came here.”  
“In a house, not a two-room cabin,” Percy reminded.  
“True.”  
There was a huge crowd by the time we reached the climbing wall. Demigods, satyrs, the occasional nymph. (I was picking up on Greek creature names pretty quickly.)  
“Natsumi!” I heard Percy call. He came over leading a satyr. “I’d like you to meet my friend Grover. Grover, this is Natsumi Hinata. She’s our newest camper.”  
Grover nodded and stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Natsumi.”  
I shook it. “You too.” It was, however, taking a lot of willpower not to look down at his shaggy goat legs. I managed. “So how does this work, exactly? The rock climbing, I mean.”  
“It’s one on one. You get a challenger and an opponent- each camper can only challenge once to give everyone a chance at the wall. Opponent gets to choose which side they take. The climbing walls appear fairly equal, but there are slight differences. It’s up to keen perception for you to decide which wall- east or west- will fit you better and give you an advantage. There’ll be some nasty surprises along the way- you might have to dodge a falling rock or lava might cover a section of the wall. You get a major injury, you have to forfeit. Minor injuries mean you keep playing, you just have a handicap. First person to reach the top and ring that bell-” and here Grover pointed it out- “wins. You got all that?”  
Giroro and I nodded.  
“Then let’s go!”  
ΩΩΩ  
Things were already picking up when we got there- apparently four pairs had already gone, and a fifth was in progress. Clarisse elbowed me as I walked by her. “You should have told me you were coming, Pinkie. I need a rematch, but I already challenged Chris.”  
“Your boyfriend, right?”  
“Why do you care?”  
And that settled the matter.  
I cheered on my friends and the people I had met as challenges continued to unfold. Giroro challenged Annabeth, which ended in an intense and well-anticipated tie. Nico battled Connor Stoll from Hermes and won, although Connor did a pretty good job holding his own. Mark went up against Sophie Anderson, a fourteen-year-old redhead from the Demeter cabin.  
Finally, I decided to take a risk. I walked to the front of the crowd and said, “I challenge Percy Jackson.”  
There were murmurs throughout the crowd. I knew what I was up against. This kid had been the subject of a huge prophecy, bathed in the river Styx (making him virtually unharmable), gone on four successful quests and fought a war, and even been offered to be made a god. I was up against something big.  
Chiron looked in Percy’s direction. “Percy?”  
“I accept.”  
We positioned ourselves at our respective walls- Percy had chosen the west wall- and pulled on our climbing gloves.  
“You ready?” I called to the other side of the wall.  
“Whenever you are,” Percy called back. And then we were off.  
I reached my hand up and grasped the first handhold. It felt almost exactly like normal climbing wall handholds- but I knew I couldn’t let my guard down. I put my left foot on a lower handhold and pushed myself up to grasp another. Then, slowly but surely, I began to make my way up the wall.  
I was about ten feet up when the first rock came tumbling down. That one was fairly easy to avoid- I just had to lean to my right. The second one was harder. I had to physically move over- not an easy task. At least I had a bit of warning, since the climbing wall was over fifty feet high.  
The rocks continued to charge at me, but I was making fairly good progress. I could hear people cheering Percy and me on. Judging by the roar of the crowd, I would assume that we were fairly close to each other. I sped up my climbing.  
I was a little more than two-thirds of the way up when the lava came oozing down. Thick and bubbly, it took more time to reach me, but it covered a large expanse. I continued to increase my pace as I found myself with less and less climbing room. The lava was beginning to heat up the handholds, making it harder for me to contain my balance. However, I finally reached the top just as Percy climbed up as well. At the exact same time, a huge burst of lava spewed out behind me.  
Frantically, I dove at the bell and wrapped my hand around the rope hanging down from it. But I didn’t have time to savor my victory, for I continued to slide until I fell off the opposite side of the wall.  
Piercing screams surrounded me as I plunged towards the earth. I closed my eyes tightly. _It was only a matter of time,_ I thought. _Nothing I can do about it now._  
But no. I wasn’t giving up on life that easily. I still had to give my friends and family the tour of Camp Half-Blood. I didn’t know who my father was yet. I still had so much to say to everyone I knew. Suddenly, I was filled with rage. Sixteen was too young to die.  
I began to feel nauseous. This wasn’t how things were supposed to end! I wasn’t going to die! I _wasn’t!_  
Then I heard a roaring sound in my head. Suddenly, everything stopped.  
 _Am I dead?_ I thought. But then I opened my eyes. A large, hovering section of water surrounded me, suspending me in midair. It began to lower until it gently deposited me on the ground.  
People were staring. I had no idea what was going on until I looked up.  
Suddenly, I wasn’t too focused on the fact that I had just beaten Percy Jackson, or even the fact that I had nearly lost my life for the second time in two days. Because the trident hologram hovering over my head was a bit more concerning.  
“I guess Dad wasn’t joking about sending me siblings,” Percy said in awe.  
At the same time, everyone- spectators and challengers alike- knelt, leaving only Giroro standing and staring at me.  
“Hail, Natsumi Hinata,” Chiron said solemnly. “Daughter of Poseidon, God of the Sea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohoho! Nobody saw THAT coming- Oh wait. I was dropping hints the whole way. So of course you saw that coming. XD


End file.
